In a recent study, researchers studies patients who had reported to have problems with grinding their teeth at night. The study showed that Botox injections reported a greater improvement (less teeth grinding) than those that were given a placebo.

This proves that Botox could be used as a normal treatment with teeth grinding, alongside a possible treatment for anxiety which is beleived to be the root of the cause of teeth grinding.

Teeth grinding has shown to cause damage to the teeth if not attended to over time. Teeth grinding, or “nocturnal bruxism” may actually occur in as many as 20% of the US population, and it is normally only caught after visiting a dentist or being told by a partner or spouse.

The study had a focus group of 23 patients, 13 people received injections of Botox directly into their jar, and 10 received a placebo (saline solution.) About 1 month after the test was given, the subjects were given a rating scale to let researchers know how their teeth grinding improved (or did not approve.)

For now, Botox is not approved for teeth grinding, although the head of the research panel, Dr Ondo stated that he has been using it in patients for over 20 years. The study was kindly funded from a small grant from Allegran, the maker of Botox in an effort to improve the reach of Botox into new markets.